Rolls-Royce has announced the successful start of the flight testing campaign for its latest aero engine, the Pearl 10X. The engine has been exclusively selected by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault to power its brand-new flagship aircraft, the Falcon 10X. This marks an important milestone for the Pearl 10X program and for Rolls-Royce as it aims to grow in the business aviation market.
The Pearl 10X is the newest addition to the state-of-the-art Pearl engine family and the first Rolls-Royce engine to power a Dassault business jet.
Pilots and flight test engineers will be testing an engine through its paces in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The testing will include engine performance and handling checks at various speeds and tests such as engine performance, handling, inflight relights, anti-icing system tests, and fan vibration tests at different altitudes.
The development program on the ground has already tested the new ultra-low emissions ALM combustor and the accessory gearbox, which can extract higher additional power. The engine has already surpassed its target thrust levels on the first test run and is expected to be the most powerful business aviation engine in the Rolls-Royce portfolio.
“We are excited to enter into this important next phase of the engine development program with the start of our flight test campaign. All the tests completed to date confirm the reliability of the engine and show it will meet the performance requirements to power Dassault’s flagship, the Falcon 10X,” said Philipp Zeller, Senior Vice President of Dassault, Business Aviation, Rolls-Royce.
The program is advancing at pace and has successfully accumulated more than 2,300 testing hours, both on the Advance 2 demonstrator and the Pearl 10X engine configuration.
The Pearl 10X engine configuration seems to be a significant part of this advancement, with its efficient core and low-pressure system combining to create a thrust of over 18,000lbf. Additionally, the Pearl 10X boasts a 5% increase in efficiency compared to previous Rolls-Royce business aviation engines, with low noise and emissions performance.
As a result, the engine will provide a market-leading combination of power and efficiency. This will enable customers and operators to have premium airport accessibility and fly ultra-long-range connections while also traveling close to the speed of sound.
